"Covid has put immense financial pressure on the entire industry. The result regrettably has been that it has also put pressure on the funding of our national office.
"We have had to take a hard look at the responsible thing to do and have decided that it is only fit and proper that Fedhasa, as an association that has represented the interests of the hospitality industry the past 74 years, takes the same approach to containing costs as many of our members have had to do," says Rosemary Anderson, the national chair, who will act as the organisation’s spokesperson for the immediate future.
As such, the national board has decided to cease the operations of the national office. The board has meanwhile engaged with the CEO to determine the best course of action in this unprecedented time.
Fedhasa’s regional offices – Cape, Inland and East Coast – remain strong, resilient and ready to rebuild an inclusive hospitality industry for South Africa in 2021. They will be aligning their respective efforts in a series of initiatives that will have direct benefits for members across the country.
"The three regional offices have always been legal entities in their own right and Fedhasa, as a federated organisation, has enjoyed robust, sustainable and engaged regional boards that are at the coalface of issues affecting their members.
"The Covid-19 crisis which has caused devastation in the sector, has necessitated improved collaboration across the regions – a focus that the association will take into 2021 with renewed vigour to build on the exceptional work that has been done during this challenging time," adds Anderson.
Fedhasa has been at the forefront, through its regional offices, directors and CEO Lee Zama, of developing the TBCSA’s Travel Safe Eat Safe health and safety protocols that were used as the framework to reopen the sector safely. This contribution was a pivotal step to ensuring that members were allowed to trade under the State of National Disaster.
"For 2021, Fedhasa’s regional structures will remain the point of contact for all regional members. Our teams will work harder than ever within this business unusual environment in support of members, lobbying at local, provincial and national level," she adds.
"As strong regional structures, our focus in the new year will be to strengthen, enhance and align the goals and activities conducted by these regional structures so that we, as one team, deliver the value our members, and indeed the entire industry needs to recover from this devastating pandemic," says Anderson.
